The present invention relates to a card reader for reading data recorded on/in cards including a magnetic card having a magnetic stripe or magnetic surface, an IC card having therein a memory or IC such as a CPU or the like, an optical card from which data can be optically read out, and the like and, if necessary, for writing data to the card. The card reader is built in an apparatus for handling cards, for instance, an automatic transaction processing machine (e.g., automated teller machine or the like) to handle bank cards.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in a conventional motor driven card reader for reading or writing card data, in the case of conveying a magnetic card A by a card conveying apparatus 23 comprising upper and lower conveying rollers 28 and 29 arranged between a main frame 21 and a subframe 22, the magnetic card A is pressed to the side of the main frame 21 by a card one-sided setting plate 25 so that a magnetic head 24 can accurately read or write the card data.
The card one-sided setting plate 25 is pivotably supported at the upper edge portion thereof to the subframe 22 via a fulcrum shaft 26 and one side portion of the magnetic card A which passes between the upper and lower conveying rollers 28 and 29 is pressed by a spring member 27 on the lower edge side.
The card reader needs a plurality of (in the diagram, five) sensors 30a to 30e to detect that the magnetic card A is located in the apparatus. The sensors 30a to 30e are arranged in the longitudinal direction (card conveying direction) of the card conveying path at a pitch interval shorter than the length of card. The sensors 30a to 30e detect the card independently of the motion of the card one-sided setting plate 25. The card A is inserted from the side of the sensor 30a and ejected out to the side of the sensor 30e.
FIG. 7 shows an operation flowchart of the foregoing conventional card reader. In the standby mode, the card one-sided setting plate 25 is pressed by the spring member 27. All of the sensors 30a to 30e are in the OFF state (inoperative mode). When the magnetic card A is inserted, the card one-sided setting plate 25 is returned to the subframe side by the card A against the spring force of the spring member 27. When the inserted card is detected by the sensor 30a (step S11), a motor (not shown) of the conveying apparatus 23 rotates in response to a detection signal of the sensor 30a, so that the rollers 28 and 29 are driven to thereby convey the card A (step S12).
The sensors 30a to 30e are sequentially turned on by the conveyed magnetic card A (steps S13, S14). When either one of the sensors 30a to 30e has been turned on, a control unit (not shown) recognizes that the magnetic card exists in the card reader.
On the other hand, card magnetic data is read or written by the magnetic head 24 during the conveyance of the card. A reading or writing timing is determined by a detection signal of the third sensor 30c.
When the magnetic card A is ejected by the apparatus and the last fifth sensor 30e is turned off, the motor is stopped (steps S15, S16).
As mentioned above, according to such a conventional structure, the state of the card needs to be always checked by using a plurality of sensors in order to detect the presence of the card. This is because if only the two first and fifth sensors 30a and 30e arranged on the inlet and outlet ports of the apparatus are used to control, the presence or absence of the card cannot be accurately detected in the case of the abnormal operation (for instance, when a power supply is shut off or the card is pulled out immediately after it was inserted, or the like).
It is, therefore, necessary to use many sensors in the conventional card reader. There are problems such that the number of parts of the apparatus increases and the degree of freedom in designing of the conveying system such as the card one-sided setting plate or the like is small.